Health issues in India
A coalescence of climate change, consumerism, population growth and pollution means the world is staring at a water crisis. For India, however, the situation is worse. The worst water crisis in its history is already underway. This is according to the latest report by global NGO WaterAid about the state of the world’s water. It […]
India’s medical tourism industry is on the rise. An optimistic forecast by the Union Ministry of Tourism projects a 200 percent growth for the sector by 2020. This would make the industry worth US$ 9 billion in the next two years. It is triple its value in 2015, the year almost 234,000 medical tourists visited […]
Clinical trials play an instrumental role in healthcare, aimed at ensuring that new medical treatments are safe and effective. The number of clinical trials conducted in India every year has steadily been rising in recent years. India is presently poised to become ‘one of the largest clinical trial hubs’, contract research organisation George Clinical announced […]
Ayurvedic products are increasing in popularity. A recent report unveiled at the Global Ayurveda Summit in Kochi found that 77 percent of Indian households used them in 2017. This is up from 69 percent of households in 2015. The rise of ayurveda is being fuelled by growing emphasis on the importance of healthy lifestyles, suggested […]
India has made global headlines with its anti-tobacco initiatives in recent years. Graphic health warnings on tobacco product packaging, bans on smoking in most public places, a toll-free quitline and Centre-run anti-tobacco campaigns have all contributed to a noticeable decline in the number of India’s smokers. India’s progress is all the more impressive considering the […]
Telemedicine can provide a useful route for patients getting a consultation who otherwise face difficulty in seeing a doctor. However, the country’s apex doctors’ network has called for clear guidelines on the practise amidst legal uncertainty following a recent court case. Two doctors were found culpable by the Bombay High Court (BHC) in the death […]
Is lack of pesticide awareness killing our farmers? Vijay Sardar – a resident of Dahigaon in the Akola district of the state – was admitted to Government Medical College (GMC) in Akola on August 7th with contact pesticide poisoning. He died five days later, aged 32. As of August 17th, there have been an additional […]
Pollution is not only corroding our air but has made most of India’s groundwater undrinkable. An investigation by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) has found high levels of groundwater contamination across the country. Groundwater exists underground in the pores of the soil and cracks in the rock. Its significance is often overlooked. However, groundwater […]
“It is dirty everywhere”, this is how Amish Das describes his home: Boragaon, a landfill site which sprawls across 94 acres of wetland in Guwahati City in northeastern Assam. Amish, whose story was recounted in a feature for The Independent last year, has lived in Boragaon his entire life. His living is made through scavenging, […]
India’s vast shipyards rake in nearly a billion dollars a year for the country. Here, decommissioned ships are sent from across the globe to be broken down for parts or scrapped. However, is this industry built at the expense of the health and lives of its workers? Alang-Sosiya in Gujarat is the largest of these […]
